The seating arrangement of the flag hoisting program to be held at the Red Fort on August 15 is under discussion. Actually, in the Red Fort, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi was seen sitting in the fifth list and Olympic players were sitting near him. Now a controversy has arisen over Rahul Gandhi being made to sit on the back seat. This was the first time that Rahul Gandhi, as the leader of opposition, had attended the Independence Day program organized at the Red Fort. Now Congress leaders from social media are raising questions regarding the seating arrangement. Also, many people say that the seat of the Leader of Opposition is in the front.
In such a situation, the question is, how is it decided who will sit where in the flag hoisting program to be held on August 15 at the Red Fort? If we look at it according to the normal protocol, then where does the Leader of the Opposition rank among the senior people?
How is it decided?
Let us tell you that the work of organizing national programs and arranging seating in such events is done by the Defense Ministry. In every program, seat arrangement is done on the basis of seniority. Seniority is decided on the basis of the Tables of Precedence list of the Home Ministry. On the basis of this, protocol is decided and seniority of politicians and officials is decided.
At what number is the post of Leader of Opposition?
In this list determined by the President, the President of India occupies the first place. After this come the posts of Vice-President of India, Prime Minister, Governor of States, Former President, Deputy Prime Minister, Chief Justice of India, Lok Sabha Speaker etc. respectively. Then come the posts of Union Minister, Union Minister of State, Deputy Chairman of NITI Aayog, former Prime Minister and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha-Lok Sabha.
According to the Table of Presidency, Union Ministers and the Leader of Opposition have been given equal status. After these posts come Bharat Ratna recipients, Chief Ministers etc. Sometimes changes are made in it during special events. Like this time Olympic players were given a special place. You can also see in this list which post comes where on the basis of seniority.
What did the Defense Ministry say?
After the controversy over Rahul Gandhi’s seat, the Defense Ministry has also responded. The Defense Ministry says that during the Independence Day program, arrangements were made for Olympic medal winning players to sit in the front rows, due to which Rahul Gandhi was made to sit in the back row. Otherwise, as per protocol, the leader of the opposition is made to sit in the front row.
Let us tell you that during the tenure of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Sonia Gandhi, as the leader of the opposition, was always made to sit in the front row in such events. At the same time, since the post of Leader of Opposition was vacant for 10 years, no arrangement was made for anyone.